TPMS on trailer warned me of my impending flat tire!

Wayne

Administrator
Staff member
We have had a TPMS on our Airstream since new. The risk of cruising down the highway with a low or flat tire on the trailer and having that tire carcass destroy the wheel well and the aluminum around it is too much not to have a TPMS. While pulling the trailer this weekend, on the TPMS display I watched the left rear trailer tire slowly drop from 80 psi to 72 psi by the time I got to my destination. I didn't have to stop to change the tire, as 72 psi was still plenty of air, but man am I glad I knew what was going on.
 
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More and more, i'm thinking of getting a tpms! Did you have a hole? I have seen valve cores loosen in new tires, like they were never in tight.
 
I think the TPMS is wise and money well spent. If you get stopped before you ruin the tire, you've just saved yourself a bunch of money, as the difference in cost between fixing a flat and buying a new tire is serious $ these days.

I'm going to go take the tire off tomorrow and take it to my buddy's shop and said he'd fix it. He said it's always interesting to see what's in the tire. I just hope whatever it is, that it's not close to the sidewall.
 
The leak was around the valve stem, so nothing in the tire and no damage.
 
I've been on the other end of that. Had a tire go flat and had no TMPS.

While running about 68mph on I90 in SD, a guy in a car pulled up next to me and hollered via open windows. "You've blow a tire" he screamed at the top of his lungs. Drat ...

Not sure how long or how quick it happened, but it was completely gone; nothing but a shred of a memory of rubber on the wheel. Luckily no damage to my rig or anyone around me, but apparently the tire did roll off the rim, go across the lanes, and bounce about 30 feet high up in the air before going ditch bound. I always carry a spare, so a quick change and we were back on the road.

Ironically, I had just replaced the tires right before the trip; probably only 1300 miles on the tires when that blow-out happened. It was under warranty, and we got it replaced at a Discount Tire in IA a few hours later at a lunch stop in Sioux City. Not sure what happened to the tire, but I assume it was the typical China-tire experience many have. The road-hazard warranty I got on those tires paid for itself in one outing.

Next time I'm getting the new GY American made ones; I hear good things. And will probably invest in TPMS. TPMS may not have alerted me in time to stop such a sudden failure, but had we been on a more desolate road and not a crowded highway, I could have destroyed a rim instead of just a tire! Because without that guy yelling at me, I would have never known about the blown tire. The trailer didn't act any different, nor did the truck. From my perspective, it never happened from the driver's seat. It's not unheard of that people pull trailers with blown tires and don't know it. I once had to alert a woman pulling a little pop-up that she needed to pull over. She had pulled it for so long that (literally) about an inch of the rim had worn away. And she had no spare!
 
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Evidently it's very hard to know when trailer tires go flat, or even when you trailer tips over. Since seeing this video, I'm thinking about getting a TOPS (Tip Over Protection System) for our Airstream, you just never know when it could happen. :p

 
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Looks more like someone with an anger problem that just said screw it. No way you dont hear, see, or feel that happening behind you.
 
Looks more like someone with an anger problem that just said screw it. No way you dont hear, see, or feel that happening behind you.
It really makes you wonder if someone could be that poor of a driver.
 
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